Fundamental Movement Skills

Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) are a specific set of gross motor skills that involve different body parts. These skills are the building blocks for more complex skills that children will learn throughout their lives. They help children take part in games, sports and recreational activities.

Children need to be taught how to perform FMS as part of their growth and development. Educators should provide children with intentional opportunities to practice these skills. This will help the skills develop and the children to become more confident. Introduce FMS skills early through play and exploration. This will make it more likely that children will engage in physical activity throughout their lives.

Watch the video below to learn why it is important to teach FMS and what the three main categories of FMS are.

How can your service incorporate FMS into your program?

In the early years, FMS is all about exposure to the skills, exploration, opportunity, guidance and most importantly - FUN!

Like all elements of the Munch & Move program, you can embed FMS throughout the whole service. Here are a few ideas to get FMS happening at your service:

Games incorporating FMS

Watch each FMS in action

For the preschool years there are 13 FMS. See the FMS Skills in action by clicking on the images below. These short videos show the key elements of each skill.

Run	Jump	Gallop
Side sliding	Hop	Skip
Leap	Catch	Stationary dribble
Kick	Strike a stationary ball	Overarm throw
	Underarm throw

FMS Resources

FMS with Franky and Friends

A fundamental movement skills resource for pre-schoolers 3-5 years containing game ideas for all skills.

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Fundamental Movement Skills in Action for 3-5yr olds

Use this fundamental movement skill handbook for practical activity and game ideas to help you creatively teach each fundamental movement skill to children aged 3-5 years.

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Fundamental Movement Skills Posters

Download and print these fundamental movement skills posters to use as visual cues for the 13 fundamental movement skills.

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Mini Moves (produced by NSLHD)

Using bright colours, a few cute ‘monsters’ and their friends, the Mini Moves Activity Pack has been designed to assist Early Childhood Educators in teaching Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) to children (aged 2 – 5 years) in a fun and engaging way. Download the activity pack and get started!

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To access more information and resources on Fundamental Movement Skills, visit the Healthy Kids website.

*NEW* 12 Days of Fitness (Produced by Northern Sydney LHD)

Practice fundamental movement skills with this fun action song based on the tune of “The 12 days of Christmas”. You may like to sing one new verse each day (or week), and gradually build up to completing the full song.

• Action song lyric sheet– Sing-a-long to the tune of the ‘12 Days of Christmas’. The actions are designed to be done without equipment.
• Demonstration video for educators - Watch the Reindeer’s demonstration video clip so you know how to lead children when you sing the song at your service.
• 12 Cards (print A4 double side & cut into cards) – The cards introduce an action that supports a child’s fundamental movement skill (FMS) development, taking into account that each FMS is made up of smaller steps. The reverse side of the card has ideas for educators to explore with children, extending on the action introduced.
• Poster (print A3) – Display the poster as a visual prompt for children or use the countdown calendar.

We want you to be able to use this resource any time of the year, and we appreciate some services and families do not celebrate Christmas, so standard versions of the action song lyric sheet and poster are also available.